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Name help for a gene freak

Alright, so I'm planning on making a gene-freak character as my first one, but I have no clue on his name. It needs to be obvious but subtle. Yes, I'm difficult.

The basics: He's a self-made gene-freak.

The reasons: 1) I've never seen a character like that in any comic book. There are plenty of genemods in comics... heck, even Spider-Man... but none of them are deliberate. Deliberate gene-mods are all villains, like Lizard. Even the Inhumans who choose terrigen don't know what the results will be. This guy genetically mods himself ON PURPOSE and KNOWS what the results will be, without going crazy/stupid/evil, which makes him unlike any comic character to date.

2) meta reason. I doubt when the game first launches there'll be many appearance options for genefreaks. But, as new options are added, this character can change again and again, and it'll all be in-character with no retcon needed. So if just the right look isn't possible for years, that's fine.

Longer background: Average joe gets advanced degree, but can't get a job, so works construction or summat. While doing that, he stays in a rundown apartment with an absentee slumlord (except when rent is due), hijack's the basement of the building (since landlord's never there) and makes a biopunk lab. He fabricates equipment from scratch and goes to work on a proprietary method that allows genemodding of adults, and we're talking real breakthrough here... able to modify entire chromosomes of every cell of the body. This is core dna, meaning can't be reversed without doing the whole procedure again. He doesn't trust others with the tech, though, as it could obviously be abused, and he doesn't trust that he'd actually get paid if he patented it... much more likely it'd just get sequestered.

First mod would probably be something fun like adding the fourth color receptor that birds have, second mod would probably be more practical like increasing strength/weight ratio. Eventually he starts to get too strong (kicking the crap out of a mugger twice his size) and look a bit too odd (the eyes), so he leaves before it becomes a thing. He trashes what he can't take with him and moves to TC where he can start up again without being noticed as much. Once in TC he starts working on phase 2 (harder to change stuff, like bones, nerves, etc).

Note: I'm assuming deliberate genemodding is at least borderline illegal. However, this character believes that he owns his own body, rather than the government owning his body. Crazy, right? Point is, he might not be entirely within the law, so might not be able to stand out with the heroes. He's also not trying to take over the world or kill people, so he can't really stand with the villains. He's a good-hearted character with a bizarre hobby and a strong belief in self-ownership of the body, but that last part puts him at odds with society. Either way, he's a gray character, not law-abiding enough to be light-side nor malevolent enough to be dark-side, and he has rough edges because so few people see things from his perspective.

Skills: genetics, and that's about it. This isn't a typical comic-book smarty-pants who magically becomes omniscient master of all technologies ever (I'm looking at you, Reed Richards, Batman, Doctor Doom, Lex Luthor, etc etc). He's much more realistic in being focused on just one highly specialized field.

The big problem with naming is civilian vs hero names. I doubt he'd go by a straight up comic-book name like Gene Freak, because he's not a full-time vigilante type.

Going by just a regular name wouldn't work either if he looks odd. A genefreak walks up and introduces himself as John Taylor... that just doesn't work.

A name that sounds somewhat normal but also somewhat super is what I'm looking for. I was thinking something like Jimmy Helix, but then I realized that sounds too much like Jimi Hendrix. And while I like Jimi Hendrix, he has nothing to do with this character so that'd just be confusing x.x

How about Adam Newman or Adam Numan? Going with Adam as was the name of the first man (supposedly) and then Newman/Numan because your character is literally a new man. A bit spot on but also innocuous enough for some to not get the meaning at all. Eh my best idea for you. YMMV.

How about Adam Newman or Adam Numan? Going with Adam as was the name of the first man (supposedly) and then Newman/Numan because your character is literally a new man. A bit spot on but also innocuous enough for some to not get the meaning at all. Eh my best idea for you. YMMV.

I guess a good question is why does he fight crime (assuming they're a hero)?

Most characters like this tend towards villainy because it tends to be the easiest way for them to get what they need be it chemicals, lab equipment, or test subjects.

So how and why is this character a hero and not just some NPC? Shedding some light on his motives and how they operate can give good insight into a name.

Also would this be a name he gives to himself or one the papers have made for him? Some characters come out and name themselves others get named. Which could also give some ideas into a name for them. Heck if they were named by the papers it could be a name he doesn't like, but everyone knows him as that.

How about:Darwin, since Chuck is probably his hero. Besides, he is mutating himself to adapt and overcome adversity, which is very darwinistic..

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I like to take your ideas and supersize them. This isn't criticism, it is flattery. I come with nothing but good will and a spirit of team-building. If you take what I write any other way, that is probably just because I wasn't very clear.

I was thinking he didn't have a PhD, so I'm not sure if the Dr. would fit. It's old time thinking to assume that the most creative and intelligent people all have the time and money for that. Not only is college expensive, but most scientists work for free for years to build up their resumes and get published, which is not something a poor kid could do. To be accepted into a doctorate program, you pretty much have to be published. I was thinking masters degree, because that doesn't require being published to get. Although, he could have a PhD and have been kicked out due to his line of research being too far beyond the pale, but then it wouldn't make sense that he was able to complete the research in secret... he'd be on too many people's radar. It's also possible he could have no degree. Think Good Will Hunting. Will had no degree, and yet was "wicked smaht."

He won't use a syringe to change on the fly. This idea is very comic book, but I'm going for something more realistic. So, we're talking core chromosome changes that take weeks or months to grow in. I realize in comic books people can change or change back right before your eyes, but that's as ludicrous and reality-breaking as what Mr Mxyztplk does.

As for needing to steal stuff or work for a crime boss, he frankly doesn't. First of all, biology is cheap. It grows itself. It's a much cheaper technology than if he were, say, a cybermod, or a bot mastermind. He doesn't need test subjects because he tests on himself. As for equipment, he fabricates it himself using 3d printing and the like.

This idea is based on the real-life phenomenon of biopunks. They're a group of people who do bioresearch out of a garage or basement or attic, and a big part of what they do is finding cheap ways to do the research without funding. They don't genemod people, that's the comic book part of this character, but they do genemod other things. Right now, one group is working on making endemic bacteria fix nutrients to solve malnutrition, for example.

As for if he does need some really rare chemicals that he can't make himself... consider how much a wealthy person would pay to have themselves or their child cured from a degenerative genetic condition. One secret transaction like that would set him up for years. Maybe in this reality Stephen Hawking made a miraculous recovery one day and now plays full-contact rugby....

...and if medicine can do that already in this reality, then he could mod those who pay him. He'd only do harmless things that can't be abused, like the fourth color receptor thing. Want hair that's naturally feathery and purple? Yeah, he could do that, but it'll be expensive. Get a little creative with this tech and you can see how he'd have no problem with money, so long as he doesn't do anything too noisy and get shut down.

And as for helping people, well, he was poor most of his life. So, he's one of those street-level looks-out-for-the-little-guy types. He also rushes to the defense of other freaks even when no one else would. Remember, he CHOSE to be a freak, so he really identifies with them. For example, in the new series "the Gifted" he would definitely help the underground railroad and not the sentinel services. Likewise, he'd prioritize a garbage collector over a stock broker. It's a bit selfish to focus on saving people you identify with, but any well-written character has character flaws. Outside of the marginalized, it's more of a "if I happen to be in the area and am not busy" thing.

Huckleberry wrote:
How about:Darwin, since Chuck is probably his hero. Besides, he is mutating himself to adapt and overcome adversity, which is very darwinistic..
You mean like the X-man from X-Men first class?
Edit: Darwinner though... Evolution is a race and he's winning.

Well shoot. Blame my ignorance. Nevermind.

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I like to take your ideas and supersize them. This isn't criticism, it is flattery. I come with nothing but good will and a spirit of team-building. If you take what I write any other way, that is probably just because I wasn't very clear.

So a street level mad scientist type, rather than an iron man or batman mad scientist type then? Alright cool... so how about Slither? It's a biotic and sneaky sounding name, and it would be perfect for a man who came from a lower class and learned how to genetically modify himself. It would help if you gave us an idea of what powers you want him to have.

I found the following in New World Encyclopedia under the discussion of the differences between genotype and phenotype:"The phrase norm of reaction refers to the amplitude of variation of a phenotype produced under different environmental conditions (Mayr 2001)."

I don't know about you, but "Norm Reaction," or even the full blown "Norm of Reaction" is a pretty subtle character name that no one would really get unless they were morphology geeks.

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I like to take your ideas and supersize them. This isn't criticism, it is flattery. I come with nothing but good will and a spirit of team-building. If you take what I write any other way, that is probably just because I wasn't very clear.

I'm sure there's some heroes with doctor in their names who don't have a PHD...
But anyway.
You're looking for a Vandal Savage (maybe not the best example) kind of name. One that can tell someone a little of what they're about without tipping the whole hand.
After a little Googling I found out that "Evo" while rare can be a last name.

I think he might be looking more towards someone like Daredevil or Mother Panic, where the fantastical element of the character is rather small and he has to rely more on his wit and fighting prowess to get the job done. Someone who's a pretty damn good geneticist but can't really hold a candle to those working at Edentech. Someone who's knows enough about gene splicing to look after the little guy being pushed down by the Rooks. Someone more punkish than Vandal Savage and not nearly as knowledgeable about mad science.

You know you could probably pay tribute to the original "Genefreak" by calling him Adam Stien. Have yourself look like a Frankenstein monster sort of deal, I mean a street level gene freak would probably have a lot of scars from both fighting crime and the poorer quality of his gene splicing tools, so a more "frankenstien"ish theme could be fun...

You guys are way better at coming up with names than me. I have a lot of options now. Currently leaning towards something like Project_Hero suggested.

To answer the question of powers... abilities will be things like enhanced strength, but without increasing in bulk. There are species that are stronger pound for pound than us that he could steal that from. If you're stronger and don't weight more, then you automatically also have increased mobility. Your leg muscles are twice as strong but you don't weigh more means you can jump really far/high, etc.

Enhanced agility is also very easy to explain, and most gene-spliced characters seem to have that (Spider-Man). So he'll be primary: strength, secondary: agility. If primary: strength is too much like superman then I might pick something different or aesthetically make it look like less strong. (yay for decoupling!) Or switch them and put agility first.

He'll also have enhanced senses, because that's an easy get from any of dozens of other things. Super senses would be enhanced vision, hearing, smell, but nothing exotic like x-rays. While biology would be capable of emitting x-rays, this guy doesn't have god-level alien tech that would be required to work out how. This also means no teleporting. Also, no flight. Going back to realism, the chordate skeleton has no room for wings without removing arms.

If I have room in tertiary for more than super senses, I'll also throw in a single atrophic attack to signify a biological attack of some kind.

Movement... Super-jumping if it's not too crazy. Maybe spider climb, but with either visible spikes/spines near the hand/feet or simply by having ridiculously strong monkey-grip (sorry, but Spidey's method is utter nonsense). I see him as being able to jump far and scale a building in no time, but not stand on a wall sideways. When he's fully powered up, picture him moving like one of the speedier xenomorphs when he wants to.

Edit: looking back over, I like the call-backs to classic biopunks. Frankenstein was a biopunk, but not a gene-freak, as he was a chimera, not a hybrid. This guy is a hybrid, with every cell changed the same, not with different cells stitched together, so no big scars where things were removed or grafted. Stein is a bit too common to be a tell, though. But, if I want his first name to be common anyway, Franklin could work. Frank is a very every-man name (even though this guy won't end up looking like any regular man). Franklin Hyde is pretty powerful sounding, but Alexander Evo ("Alex") sounds less like a villain, and he's not supposed to be a villain. Those are the two I'm looking at right now.

Biopunk can refer to the fictional setting like cyberpunk but where everything is genetics instead of cybernetics.

But it can also mean someone who does bioresearch outside of any major institution. So... they don't work for a military, or university, or research group, but for themselves. They can be a gene freak also, or not. Frankenstein's monster was stitched together as a chimera, which means his dna did not change at all. Sure his arm might have different DNA than his leg, but that's what chimera means.

I'm using gene freak to refer to hybrids. A hybrid is someone who's genetics have been changed, but all cells have the same dna. They could be a biopunk or not. So they can overlap but don't always.

Also, my idea to use Franklin instead of Stein won't work. The chemist who started the silicone industry was James Franklin Hyde, so the name's taken by someone big enough to have scholarships in his name. =/

But we're getting closer.

Edit: At first I thought Moreau made gene freaks(hybrids), but after reading a synopsis, I see he made chimeras also. The movie made it look like hybrids, but the book description is chimeras. Spider-Man is a hybrid, though.

I honestly hadn't decided on his ethnic background. I was going to work backwards from the name. He's born in the US because that's where CoT is set, but I hadn't decided on his lineage. Given that he is becoming his own race, race doesn't matter, though I doubt ethnicity really matters either. We're talking about a person who does not care about the past, so much so that he doesn't care about his genetic heritage and is changing it.

Back to business, taking TNT and notears ideas for homage to classic biopunks, and combining it with Project-Hero's idea, and adding comic-book alliteration, we'd get Edward Evo. Edward is the first name of Hyde. In anime, it's also the first name of FMA, who in his youth tried to use alchemy to create a living biological body and bring his mother back to life... classic biopunk move.

I still think it's missing something, though, like a middle name or initial. Perhaps Edward X. Evo. X stands for Xenios, which is Greek for a protector of guests. From this is derived Xenos, meaning strange or foreign. So... a protector of the strange and foreign. The initial is pronounced with an E sound (Edward ex evo) for more alliteration. It also looks visually like "Edward times evolution." That's a lot packed into one initial.

I suppose that might make his heritage Greek, but it could also just mean one of his parents liked greek stuff, or he changed his name.